Last few days of the adventure

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  Taitung/Green Island/Kenting/Kaohsuing, Taiwan
Sunday, December 30, 2007

Our last few days on Green Island were a blast. We cruised around on scooters snapping shots of the coast and hiked along some trails where we met Mr. Big(see pics) and some scurrying lizards. No sign of the 100 pacer though (a snake that gives you 100 paces to live after bitten). A walk along some volcanic rock led us to some easy climbing and great views. We shared Scotch with a familiy from the US living in Taipei as well with our hosts Jack and his wife. Jack runs the hotel we stayed at and if you ever find yourself on Green Island look him up at Jack's Boutique. We had another snokeling session out  on the reef and this time at my request, no life jackets, so we were able to dive down to swim amongst all the fish. There was this part of the coral that looked like a big mushy brain and as I stared at it I could see a face in the side of it. According to Jack it's a part of the coral that is 5000 years old. I swam to the edge of the reef and peered out into the unknown once again. It was good fun.
The ride back to the mainland was easier and we soon found ourselves on a train back to Fanglio where we would catch the bus back to the Surf Shack just outside Kenting for our last few days here. On the 28th at the Shack, a hostel run by a great guy named Terry, we met a Evan a New Yorker who was teaching in Japan and vactioning in Taiwan. I enjoyed his stories of learning how to surf off of Long Island as a kid. He would even go, protected by a thick wet suit, in the winter...hardcore. The morning of the 29th Evan, Jamie, Terry and I went to a nice break about 20 minutes drive from the Hostel. The company that Terry and a few others run is Taiwan Surf Tours. Terry will take you to some good spots for 200 NT a day plus rentals. We hit the water, Evan was off catching waves as well as Terry while I paddled and worked on ducking big waves that come crashing in on you mercylessly. I was exhasted after about an hour and returned to the beach with Jamie to watch how it is done. After the session we relaxed at the hostel and then went to a beach and had a few beers. Terry asked if we wanted to go out later in the day for another surf, Evan and I were in while Jamie relaxed at the hostel. On the second time out I paddled like hell and worked on stading in the foam. I eased my fustration by thinking that there is a steep learning curve in this sport and it will take time to be good enough to ride waves. We left the water as the sun dipped behind some mountains and it started to rain.
Back at the Surf Shack we ate and waited for Abbey to arrive from Korea. At about 645 a smiling Abbey walked in and we had a good laugh before heading into Kenting for some sight seeing. Kenting has a night market where, like a carnival, there are games and shops open, up and down the main drag. We had some Thai food, a few drinks at a mobile bar and attempted to ride these little bikes around a small circle for free drinks, all with no success aside from the bartender who did it with ease. Like a bunch of locals we headed back to the hostel on the bus and hit the sack to be prepared for this mornings session. We hit the water at 745am and today was good for me as I stood briefly for a few waves while continuing to work on paddling and ducking the waves that made me feel tiny. The rest of the crew had a good session too and we headed back to eat some breaky. After breaky Jamie and I said our goodbyes and jumped on a bus to Kaohsuing. We checked into a hotel close to the airport and are now about to meet up with Jon Van Campen, a team mate from SFU wrestling years ago, for some pub style food and beer. It has been a great trip and I would recommend Taiwan as a cheap and exciting place to visit. There is so much we didn't see...maybe next time. Once home I'll throw up some pics. As I sit here at the computer I still feel like I'm floating on a board in the ocean, a feeling that I hope fades gradually. I look forward to hearing about Abbeys trip when he returns to Korea and that we'll have some good tales to tell over some pints.
       -Thanks for reading

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